Emilia Romagna F1 Sprint results, qualifying grid: Verstappen wins to take pole for Grand Prix

Will Savage

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Emilia Romagna F1 Sprint results, qualifying grid: Verstappen wins to take pole for Grand Prix image

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc tussled for the lead of the Emilia Romagna Sprint - the first of the Formula 1 season - with the Dutch driver ultimately coming out on top.

Verstappen was caught off the line by the Ferrari. Leclerc led the way, and looked comfortable for most of the race, but significant tyre graining towards the end allowed Verstappen to close.

The Monegasque didn't have anything left in his locker when Verstappen attacked on the penultimate lap, and could only watch as the Red Bull streaked away for the final lap. Verstappen will start Sunday's Grand Prix on pole, with Leclerc alongside him on the front row.

Strong recovery drives from Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz saw Red Bull and Ferrari take the second row, too.

Perez's power on the straight was too much for anyone else to handle, while Sainz did well to move through the field. Having started P10, the Mexican will be starting the full race P4.

The McLarens couldn't keep up with the top two teams, but were comfortably next best, and locked out the third row. Valterri Bottas drove well to finish P7, while Kevin Magnussen took the last of the point-scoring places.

Haas went with a strategy of medium-compound tyres, but the rest of the field didn't see enough degradation for that to really pay off. Mick Schumacher's P10 finish puts Haas in a good position to start tomorrow's race.

Bottas' teammate, Zhou Guanyu, was out early on after tangling with Pierre Gasly in a racing incident, and will start the Grand Prix in last place.

Fernando Alonso dropped four places to P9, and his performance will have been a concern for the Alpine pitwall. He looked to have cold tyres for quite a while, and couldn't match the pace of the cars around him. It was a poor race for Alpine, who saw Esteban Ocon finish P16.

It was another race to forget for Mercedes as well. George Russell finished P11, where he started, while Lewis Hamilton dropped a place to P14.

Recap the action from the Emilia Romagna Sprint below.

MORE: What is F1 Sprint? Schedule, points & how new Formula 1 qualifying format works

Emila Romagna F1 Sprint results

Position Driver Team Points
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull 8
2. Charles Leclerc Ferrari 7
3. Sergio Perez Red Bull 6
4. Carlos Sainz Ferrari 5
5. Lando Norris McLaren 4
6. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 3
7. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 2
8. Kevin Magnussen Haas 1
9. Fernando Alonso Alpine 0
10. Mick Schumacher Haas 0
11. George Russell Mercedes 0
12. Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 0
13. Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 0
14. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 0
15. Lance Stroll Aston Martin 0
16. Esteban Ocon Alpine 0
17. Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 0
18. Alexander Albon Williams 0
19. Nicholas Latifi Williams 0
20. Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 0

Emilia Romagna F1 Sprint: as-it-happened

Lap 21: Verstappen is streaking away from Leclerc in this last lap, and is set to start tomorrow's race on pole. Perez finishes P3, while Sainz takes P4. The McLarens lock out the third row.

Only available in UK:

Lap 20: Verstappen takes the lead! He goes round the outside of the Ferrari, and takes the lead into the chicane.

Lap 19: LeClerc's tyres have looked in poor condition for the last few laps. Further back, Sainz has got past Norris for P4, and Bottas has got past Magnussen for P7.

Lap 18: Carlos Sainz is closing in on Lando Norris in P4. Meanwhile, Verstappen is keeping the pressure on Leclerc up front, sitting half a second off the Ferrari.

Lap 17: Verstappen closes in on Leclerc. He finishes within the DRS window, and reduces the gap to half a second.

Only availabe in UK:

Lap 16: Bottas gets past Alonso, taking the inside line on the straight. The Haas strategy might be paying off, as Mick Schumacher gets past Vettel.

Lap 15: Bottas tries a move on Fernando Alonso, but the Alpine driver keeps him at bay, for now.

Lap 14: Sainz takes another place, this time getting past Ricciardo on the straight. He's up to P5 now.

Lap 12: Sainz gets past Magnussen, to cheers from the home fans. It was an interesting choice from Haas to go with the medium tyres. They just don't have the pace at this stage of the sprint.

Only available in UK:

Lap 11: Ricciardo gets past Magnussen, squeezing inside the Haas on the entrance to the chicane. Further forward, Perez has got past Norris.

Lap 10: Perez is closing in on Lando Norris.

Lap 9: Bottas gets past Vettel into the chicane, and it's Alonso up next for him. Leclerc is 1.2s ahead of Verstappen at the front.

Lap 8: Perez gets past Magnussen with ease on the straight. The Red Bull's power is too much for the Haas to deal with. Perez is up to P4, and it's Lando Norris separating Perez from his teammate in P2.

Only available in UK:

Lap 7: Alonso looks to be running in cold tyres, as Sainz gets past him without needing to wait for DRS. Perez is hunting down Magnussen.

Lap 6: It's not been a good start to the Sprint for Mercedes. Russell is in P12, while Hamilton has dropped two places to P15.

Lap 4: We're racing again, as the safety car pits. Yuki Tsunoda is another one who has made up places, up in P13 as we get back underway. Leclerc leads from Verstappen, followed by Norris, with Magnussen and Perez following. Alonso in P7 is struggling for pace.

Lap 3: Further back, Perez is up to P5, while Sainz has made up two places to reach P8. Alonso dropped back between Ricciardo and Perez straight from the start.

Only available in UK:

Lap 2: There's a safety car as Zhou Guanya ends up in the wall. He came together with Gasly, who gets new parts in the pits and will rejoin the back of the pack. Zhou won't be rejoining the race.

Lap 1: It's lights out!

Charles Leclerc gets a great start, and catches Verstappen napping!

Formation lap: A mix of soft and medium tyres, as the teams begin the formation lap. Most are on softs. Of the cars with medium tyres, Magnussen is the furthest forward. Fernando Alonso is slow off the mark, with a couple of cars overtaking him. He eventually gets his car going, and will be allowed to start in P5, as he got off the grid before the last car passed him.

5 mins to lights out: The weather brought chaos to yesterday's qualifying session, and it remains to be seen how the track will act today. Some teams struggled to get heat in their tyres yesterday, and they'll be hoping for a more driveable circuit today.

15 mins to lights out: There are a few drivers who will be looking to make up places as they qualify for the full length race tomorrow. Red Bull will be looking for Perez to finish nearer to Max Verstappen, while Mercedes will be hoping that their race pace helps them out today.

25 mins to lights out: It's the first Spring of the season, and with more points at stake for Sprint this season, there's even more incentive for teams to push hard in this format.

1 hour to lights out: Welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of the first Sprint session of the 2022 Formula 1 season. 

How to watch the 2022 Emilia Romagna F1 Sprint 

  UK USA Canada Australia
Date April 23 April 23 April 23 April 23
Time 3.30 p.m. 10.30 a.m. ET 10.30 a.m. ET 9.30 p.m. AEST
TV channel Sky Sports F1 ESPN TSN FOX SPORTS

Emilia Romagna Sprint qualifying results

Grid Position Driver Team
1. Max Verstappen Red Bull
2. Charles Leclerc Ferrari
3. Lando Norris McLaren
4. Kevin Magnussen Haas
5. Fernando Alonso Alpine
6. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren
7. Sergio Perez Red Bull
8. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo
9. Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin
10. Carlos Sainz Ferrari
11. George Russell Mercedes
12. Mick Schumacher Haas
13. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
14. Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo
15. Lance Stroll Aston Martin
16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri
17. Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri
18. Nicholas Latifi Williams
19. Esteban Ocon Alpine
20 Alexander Albon Williams

 

Will Savage